Shivajimaharaj Fort Visit: April 2009

Sinhgad Fort Trek

The Sinhgad fort was conquered by Tanaji Malasure on behalf of Raje Shivaji… It is very interesting to read about the battle and the way it was conquered. It was also strategically located at the center of a string of other forts such as Raigad, Purandar And Torna. Sinhgad located on an isolated cliff of the Bhuleswar range of the Sahyadri Mountains.

This fort has been quite a long history. Shahaji Bhosale, as the commander of Ibrahim Adil Shah, was entrusted with the control of the Pune region. His son Shivaji however, refused to accept the Adilshahi and initiated the task of setting up Swarajya. He gained control of Kondana in 1647 by bribing Siddi Amber, the Adilshahi Sardar who controlled the fort. In 1649, it had to be handed over to Adil Shah for Shahaji Maharaj's freedom. Shivaji Maharaj soon captured it back. Unfortunately it went into the hands of the Mughal army chief Mirzaraje Jaysingh, in the year 1665. In 1670, Shivaji Maharaj re-conquered this fort and then it stayed under Maratha rule till 1689. After the death of Sambhaji death, the Mughals regained control over. Again in 1693 the Marathas captured it. Rajaram died on Sinhagad on the 3rd of March 1700 & in 1703 Aurangzeb conquered it. In 1707, it once again went into the hands of the Marathas and remained with them till 1818, when the British conquered it.

One of the most famous battles for Sinhagad was fought to recapture the fort by Tanaji Malsure a general of Shivaji Maharaj in March 1670. A steep cliff leading to the fort was scaled with the help of a ghorpad, or a monitor lizard. Thereafter, there ensued fierce battles between Tanaji and his men, and the fortkeeper Udaybhan Rathod and his army. Tanaji lost his life, but his brother Suryaji took over and captured Kondana.

Upon hearing of Tanaji's death, Shivaji expressed his remorse with the words: "Gad aala pan sinha gela" - "We gained the fort, but lost the lion". In honor of Tanaji's death, the fort was renamed as Sinhagad. A bust of Tanaji has been established on the fort in memory of his contribution to the battle.

Tanaji Kada

So the Sahaydri Sangh decided to have a visit of this famous historical Fort (sinhgad) The climb starts at around 9.00 a.m. from Payath of Sinhgad fort. Sachin Chavan, Bhushan Indulkar, Nilesh Shinde, Santosh Sarak & Prakash P. We stats to going up with the loud name of Jay Shivaji…. Jay Bhavni… It was a really hot climate over their . It is about one and half hour climb. You reach the top have breaksfast (local food) then start descending. Reach the foot of the fort by 10 am. Reach home by 11am and spend your holiday as you wish. It is around 15-20 mins walk to the ’’paytha’’ from the village. Once you reach the paytha ..then..then go ahead start climbing.

You can visit Sinhagad any season of the year be in summer, winter or rains. In Rainy Season u will found lots of Waterfall over their.. But its too risky also.. cuz even Sinhgad fort is small it some route of its is So Dangerous.. You need to take Much Caution during trek..

Its almost 22 kms. From Pune Swargate.. Height :approx 700, reach the Swargate ST stand. There are many city buses that ply from Swargate ST stand. The city buses take you to the sinhagad gaon (village).

There is absolutely no problem in reaching the fort. You need not take the pains of climbing the fort. There is a tar road right upto the top. Many people we found using Bikes to go on the top of the fort, they all was a Engineering Student..

If you decide to start early in the morning the best would be to stay overnight at the hotels in the sinhagad gaon. If you really want to trek, then you should consider trekking Sinhgad via Katraj.

On the you can see : Dev Take - famous tank with sweet and cold water. Tanaji’s samadhi on the fort. The tower of Doordarshan is also there on Sinhagad. You can see the Panshet, Khadakwasla and Varasgaon dams and Torana fort also.
To add to it The view of entire Pune city looks splendid.

STRICT Warning : Pls. Do not carry food when you visit sinhagad. If you do so you will be missing on the taste of the Maharashtrian village deliacy. You may carry water with you. Once you reach the top there is a cool water tank on the fort. People keep visiting sinhgad fort for the scenic beauty, but more so for the food.
There are many huts of the villagers on the top of the fort. They prepare garam garam jhunka-bhakari with thecha and also Kanda bhaji (onion pakora) with thecha .

If you do not exercise regularly, you climb the Sinhagad fort every Sunday morning. This is the mantra of most of the people in pune.

The fort is also part of training at National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla Dam, Cadets from the academy are regularly sent on a hikes and runs from NDA to Sinhagad in full battle gear to build endurance and stamina.